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Swimming Pool Inspectors Interactive Training CD-ROM

CDC’s Environmental Health Services Branch has mailed the Volusia County, Florida, Health Department, Environmental Health Division’s Swimming Pools and Spas Interactive Training CD-ROM to more than 4,000 of our partners in local and state environmental health programs.

The CD-ROM is an excellent and innovative tool for training new environmental health personnel and a good review for experienced staff. The 37 lessons include more than 100 videos, computer animations, and detailed 3-D graphics; 470 photos; interactive problem-solving exercises and quizzes; and live links to the CDC Healthy Swimming Web site for additional information and to keep the training material current with the latest information on recreational water illness prevention.

Illnesses from recreational water are preventable. Environmental health program personnel who are responsible for overseeing community swimming pools, spas, and other recreational water venues need current information about transmission of diseases in these settings and about proper design and maintenance of these facilities. The application of this information through CDC’s recommended systems approach to preventing illness associated with recreational water will further improve the level of protection.

A June 2003 report (MMWR 2003:52:513-6 [PDF - 2.31 MB]) detailed a significant pattern of noncompliance with critical public health standards at community pools. The thoroughness of recording important data varied during the inspections, limiting a jurisdiction’s ability to track public health prevention trends in recreational water facilities. The training provided in this interactive program is designed to better equip environmental health program personnel to do effective recreational water facility inspections, better explain the key public health safeguards to the operators, and develop partnerships to protect the swimming public.

This training program is based on the experience with some of Florida’s approximately 30,000 public pools and on the specific regulations found in Florida. The principles taught are universal in application.